Group Of Micro-holes Produced By Electrochemical Machining With Fixed Cathode

Electrochemical machining (ECM) is a non-traditional machining technology based on electrochemical anodic dissolution of metal in electrolyte. ECM becomes an important technology in manufacturing of aviation and weapons because hard metal material could be machined, and there is no stress and recast layer on the machined workpiece.The sheet metal with group of micro-holes are widely used in various fields, such as automobile, environment-protection, home appliances, nuclear industry, aeronautics, and astronautics. ECM is an ideal method to machine group of micro-holes.According to Through-mask ECM, which is commonly used to machine group of micro-holes, a new kind of cathode has been designed, and experiments have been carried out. In this paper, following work has been done:1. The new cathode combined with conductor and insulator has been designed and fabricated;2. Electric field distribution has been analyzed using finite element method (FEM).3. An ECM system has been designed, including electrolyte system, and power supply.4. The effect of some parameters on machining quality has been investigated. And parameters have been optimized to improve machining quality of group of micro-holes.5. Cooling catheters of aeroengine have been machined.The experimental results show that pulse current can attribute good machining quality, high votage and high electrolyte pressure can improve consistency of the holes, and low votage and low concentration electrolyte help to decrease taper of the holes.